The 17th annual Cleveland Asian Festival is set to be the largest yet. Festival co-founders and co-producers Johnny Wu and Lisa Wong say they have record-breaking vendor participation this year, with a focus on Asian cuisine for the 2026 celebration on Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and May 17.

"This year’s theme is Asian cuisine—we are trying to make it more exciting [by] providing more cuisine perspectives," Wu declares. This year’s expanded food court extends throughout Asia Plaza's parking lots and along the main entrance, with additional food trucks located at East 27^th Street and Payne Avenue.

The 17th Cleveland Asian Festival is May 16 and 17, 2026Wong adds that the new perspectives and expanded culinary lineup includes 35 new and returning food vendors.

“We've got a few Filipino food trucks, and we do have some new Laotian food trucks. We’ve added Sip Boba Tea and Little Boijon Asian Cuisine. Three Suns Kitchen, which is a Burmese food truck—[it’s] brand new."

Among the diverse offerings, festival-goers can expect fresh coconut drinks served directly from the shell, Filipino dessert Halo Halo, and an array of Boba tea options.

"There are fresh cut coconut drinks... at the Asia Town Food Booth, which is Asia Food Company,” explains Wong. “They take a coconut and they cut it there for you, put a straw and you can just drink it.”

Two fun highlights include the return of the Egg Roll Eating contest, which was cancelled after the pandemic, and Cosplay, which Wu says started last year and was quite popular.

Record participation
The Cleveland Asian Festival has steadily grown since it first began with 10,000 people attending the one-day event back in 2010. CAF hit a record high in 2016, with 48,800 attendees spending over $2 million.

While CAF was cancelled in 2020 and went virtual in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has been steadily returning to its high, with 47,000 attending in 2025 and even more expected this year—already reaching an unprecedented scale, according to Wong.

“By the time I was finished with the Lunar New Year 2025 event [in February], our application for vendors for the Cleveland Asian festival was over 100,” she recalls. “We have over 130 non-food vendors alone. And then we have 35 food vendors and food trucks for the festival.

"So this year is the biggest in terms of vendors,” Wong continues. “And I believe the performances are as well.”

Past Asian Pop Dance Cover Competition winners.K-Pop takes the spotlight
The entertainment lineup reflects the growing popularity of Korean culture—from music and food to television and movies to beauty and fashion.

Wong says the Asian Pop Dance Cover Competition that returns this year with fierce competition is highly anticipated by both the competitors and attendees. She says organizers had to narrow down the applications to the top six groups competing on Sunday, May 17.

From K-Pop and J-Pop to the latest Asian hits, the teams will deliver show-stopping performances on the CAF stage—competing in front of a panel of judges who will evaluate the teams as they battle for cash prizes sponsored by the OCA Greater Cleveland Chapter – Asian Pacific American Advocates:

• $1,000 for first place
• $500 for second place
• $250 for third place

"Saturday, there's an Asian Pop K-Pop Dance Mix where they have different teams showcasing K-Pop,” adds Wong. “But there's also a KPop Demon Hunters theme by one of the K-Pop teams on Sunday...so two days of K-Pop."

Wong adds that there are interactive elements of the dance competition that will allow festival attendees to fully immerse themselves in the K-Pop movement.

"On Sunday, one of our team members will be teaching how to do the KPop dance to ‘Golden’—everyone knows ‘Golden,’” she says. “So, let's teach them how to do the dance moves."

Cultural performances and fashion
Beyond food and music, the festival offers diverse cultural programming. The Silk Road Cultural Collective—the nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and sharing Asian and Eurasian cultural heritages through immersive performance, education, community engagement, and interactive cultural experiences—which was founded earlier this year by Wu, Dan Hanson and Annie Ying Pu, will have a presence at the festival.

Johnny Wu, Julie Simon, and Nik Palmer in historic replicas of Chinese Armor.Wu is enthusiastic about the cultural education aspect of CAF. "I always like to see the cosplay, Colors of Asia, or Silk Road,” he says. “This year, we didn't invite the circle of people to walk around, so [the performers] can talk to people."

Traditional performances include two Taiko drum teams—the Oberlin College Taiko and Yumi Daiko—Pacific Paradise Entertainment's Polynesian Hawaiian dances, and a Nepalese performance.

Supporting the Asiatown community
CAF is a vital economic engine for the AsiaTown neighborhood, Wong explains. "One of the main missions is to highlight the AsiaTown community, because a lot of people don't know that we have an AsiaTown.”

Of course many neighborhood businesses, like Siam Café, participate in the festival and CAF weekend is their time to shine.

“They told me they come because they love the energy,” she says of both the participants and the supporters. “They love the energy and supporting the community, being a part of the event.”

A new passport program, developed in partnership with MidTown Cleveland, Inc., will encourage visitors to explore the permanent businesses established in AsiaTown and the surrounding neighborhood both during and after the Cleveland Asian Festival.

Wong cites Ball Ball Waffle, which started as a vendor in 2019 at the Cleveland Asian Festival, and now is inside Asia Plaza.

“So now, you can get that year-round,” she explains, adding that many permanent businesses adjust their hours to participate.

“They'll make the same hours as the festival so people can enjoy their waffles first,” she says of Ball Ball Waffle. “ Pho Sunshine's participating, and Alpha Ramen's doing new stuff—they've got their Sakura boba drinks and I believe they're doing a fancy dessert. And then we have Han Chinese Kebab & Grill, which will be there.”

Additionally, the popular Li Wah Restaurant will be open in Asia Plaza and have an outside booth.

But it’s not just the food businesses that have special hours, Wong says, adding that one local business is a regular participant.

“We have some businesses from the community—Mr. Lucky’s Charms and Supplies [6408 St. Clair Ave.], which sells anything that’s lucky, comes back every year,” she explains. “Mr. Lucky, he's from the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.”

Sustainability initiatives, community service, and health
The festival maintains its commitment to environmental responsibility through its Green Team initiative, now in its third year.

"We want to be a zero waste kind of perspective and try to become as green as possible,” says Wu, adding that they have always recycled, and the Green Team ensures everything that can be recycled will be recycled.

Mr. Lucky of Mr. Lucky’s Charms and Supplies in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.Asian Services in Action (ASIA), a comprehensive health and human services agency serving neighborhood immigrants and refugees, will conduct a donation drive throughout the festival.

"They want to be able to collect hygiene products for community members to complement their food pantry services," Wong notes, adding that donors will receive raffle tickets for prizes donated by board members.

In addition to ASIA, the Health Pavilion will offer resources and information tailored to the Asian community, as well as other visitors. A mobile mammogram unit will be on site, as will the Northeast Ohio Liver Alliance and the American Heart Association. There will be health screenings, and other health services.

Wong says they continue to recruit volunteers, mentioning that all volunteers get food vouchers in exchange for four hours of work and are also invited to a volunteer appreciation meal after the festival—where they can win raffle prizes.

Wu stresses the ongoing need: "We definitely need more volunteers,” he says. “Somehow we have a lot of [elder] volunteers. We need to get some more new blood."

For a complete list of events, performances, vendors, businesses, and other information, go to the official Cleveland Asian Festival website

Parking is available at Cleveland State University in the East 24^th Street and Payne Avenue lots, as well as additional lots within walking distance. The festival remains a family-friendly, alcohol-free event celebrating the rich diversity of Asian cultures in Northeast Ohio.